The Garden

The Tending and Gathering Garden (TGG) is a collaborative effort between the Native American community and the Cache Creek Conservancy (CCC) to demonstrate traditional land and plant management practices of California's native people.  These two acres nestled in the homeland of the Wintun people, have been restored with native plants found within the Cache Creek watershed.  These plants are used for basketry, food, fiber, shelter, medicine, and watercraft.  The TGG provides a place for "hands-on" education including plant identification, plant use, and traditional management methods.  It's also a source where cultural practitioners can gather plants.

The TGG is managed with both traditional and contemporary horticultural practices.  These include pruning, coppicing (cutting a plant back to the ground), hand weeding, irrigating, and burning.  Digging is used for harvesting certain plant material.  No chemical pesticides are used in the garden.  Fire is one of the best tools because many species are well adapted to frequent natural events. 

 Guided by traditional management methods of California's Native Americans, this garden grows from the work of many hands.  A deep-rooted regard for the land and natural beauty of this area drives the work of the Steering Committee for the garden.  This group, comprised of CCC staff and practitioners form more than a dozen different tribes, directs the planning, implementation, and ongoing growth of the Tending and Gathering Garden.